Learning to Lead

The Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) prepares high school students for leadership while making them aware of their rights, responsibilities and privileges as American citizens. “I joined the program to learn leadership… leadership is something you need to succeed in life,” Atholton High School JROTC alumnus Robert Stephenson said.

Two-hundred-thirty students currently participate in Atholton’s JROTC program, a four-year elective class offering rigorous instruction, practical skill training and hands-on activities. Cadets have countless leadership opportunities including through drill team, color guard and other team competition extracurriculars; through senior members teaching earlier grades; and through regular community service involvement. This year, Atholton cadets made and distributed bags of essentials for those in need, and raised more than $1,300 for Walter Reed National Military Medical Center’s breast and prostate cancer facilities.

JROTC programs are also offered at Howard High School (U.S. Army) and Oakland Mills High School (U.S. Air Force). If JROTC alumni choose to further pursue their military interests, they can receive advanced placement credit in the Senior ROTC program (college level) or advanced ranking in any of the armed forces.

“The one thing we expect all our students to take away is self reliance, discipline and forward thinking. With the future at their doorstep, they should be able to grasp it and have the tools necessary to take whatever career path they choose,” said LTC William Reinhart, JROTC senior army instructor at Atholton.